The UK tops the 2013 open data index but how do other countries compare?

Which countries are the best for open data? A ranking by the Open Knowledge Foundation has attempted to rank countries on exactly this by looking at ten key areas. See which countries perform best and which still have a way to go
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Open data index mapped View larger picture
Click on the image above to see a full-size version of the chloropleth map of open data index scores by the Open Knowledge Foundation.

Governments are still failing to provide "enough information in an accessible form to their citizens and businesses" according to the 2013 open data index published today by the Open Knowledge Foundation.

The 2013 index, released ahead of the annual summit for the Open Government Partnership, gives the UK the best score for open data and is followed closely behind by the US. Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands follow the UK and US, while of the 70 countries assessed, Cyprus, St Kitts & Nevis, the British Virgin Islands, Kenya and Burkina Faso record the lowest scores.

The Open Knowledge Foundation note that the index - a result of community-based surveys in 70 countries - does not paint a full global picture. They explain that although there are "many countries where governments are less open" they were not assessed due to a "lack of openness or a sufficiently engaged civil society." The not-for-profit organisation also points out that this includes 30 countries who are members of the Open Government Partnership.

Countries are ranked on the availability and accessibility of information in ten key areas; government spending, election results, transport timetables, pollution levels, government budget, company register, national statistics, legislation, postcodes and availability of a high level copy of a national map.

Rufus Pollock, Founder and CEO of the Open Knowledge Foundation said:

Opening up government data drives democracy, accountability and innovation. It enables citizens to know and exercise their rights, and it brings benefits across society: from transport, to education and health. There has been a welcome increase in support for open data from governments in the last few years, but this Index reveals that too much valuable information is still unavailable.

Although the UK and US lead on open government data according to the index, there are still key areas for improvement. The UK Electoral Commission doesn't allow open reuse of election data for example, whilst in the US there is no federal dataset that contains all corporate registrations.

Open data index interactive screengrab Click on the image to explore the interactive by the Open Knowledge Foundation which breaks down the scores by each indicator used in the open data index

The analysis also finds a 'very disappointing' degree of openness when it comes to company registers with only 5 out of the top 20 registering even basic information via a truly open licence. Only 10 of these allow bulk download.

Another issue the research highlighted is a lack of re-usability; less than half of the ten key datasets in the top 20 countries are available to re-use as open data. Pollock explains that even leading countries don't realise the importance of re-usability to open data:

For the true benefits of open data to be realised, governments must do more than simply put a few spreadsheets online. The information should be easily found and understood, and should be able to be freely used, reused and shared by anyone, anywhere, for any purpose.

The table below shows the scores given to each of the 70 countries analysed in the open data index 2013. To see the scores given to each country by each of the 10 key areas, visit the open data index website where additional information is also recorded on the individual areas that have been analysed.

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Open data index mapped

Chloropleth map of open data index scores. Darker colours reflect higher scores, whereas grey indicates an absence of data. Map created by the Open Knowledge Foundation.